


Warmth

by ciitadel



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Drug Use, F/F, Fluff, Mentions of drugs, Recreational Drug Use, alternate universe: rachel and chloe actually get out of arcadia and no one fucking dies, i just finished ep 2 of before the storm and i just want my gays to be happy okay, i legit wrote this in like an hour, is that too much to ask, shameless self providing fluff, spoilers for ep 2 of before the storm, they live in los angeles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-28
Updated: 2017-12-28
Packaged: 2019-02-23 00:52:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13178880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ciitadel/pseuds/ciitadel
Summary: “You want it?” She asked, holding it out to Rachel.Rachel blinked, as if taking a moment to register what Chloe was asking. “You don’t want it?”Chloe shook her head. “Nah, fruit popsicles were never really my thing. I only ordered it because it was the only thing the guy had left.”Rachel stared at the popsicle for another moment, before shrugging and taking it from her. “Thanks,” she said, biting off the end with the same kind of fearlessness as when she was jumping off a train.Chloe loved being with Rachel, but sometimes she seriously judged the way she ate ice cream.or basically an entirely self indulgent au where the girls actually do get out of Arcadia Bay and go to LAwarning:spoilers for episode 2 of 'Before the Storm'





	Warmth

**Author's Note:**

> hey so uh it's almost 2 am and i legit just finished episode 2 of 'before the storm' like a little bit ago and immediately after i just sat down and wrote this so yeah this is unbetaed and just me really wanting rachel and chloe to have a happy ending even tho i know they don't because of the first game
> 
> so yeah, have my 'what if' scenario for if the girls got to go to LA
> 
> also please please _please_ don't post any spoilers beyond episode 2 of 'before the storm' in the comments. I haven't gotten the chance to play episode 3 yet and I really don't want to be spoiled but I leave reading your comments! 
> 
> Thank you guys so much, hope you enjoy!

She still wasn’t used to it being this warm. 

Chloe had been in LA for months now, and she still couldn’t seem to adjust to the fact that the vast majority of the time, one did not need to wear a jacket outside. It was such a sharp contrast from Arcadia Bay, or all of Oregon really, where the state’s temperature seemed to be permanently set anywhere between 50 and 60 degrees (save for the sweltering summers, of course). 

But here she was, sitting on the edge of the wooden pier, watching the ocean waves lap under the moonlight in only a light shirt and jean shorts. It was odd, yes, but just another pleasant reminder of her new life here, away from Arcadia Bay, with a girl as bright as the sun to keep her company. 

Beside her, Rachel swung her legs over the water, dancing them to some invisible tune only she knew. She was just finishing the last licks of the ice cream cone in her hand, whereas Chloe still had more than half of hers left. She didn’t know why they had gotten ice cream. Only that when she and Rachel saw the ice cream truck, they couldn’t just walk on by. 

Chloe wasn’t going to finish the frozen concoction of artificial fruit flavoring and red food dye, so when Rachel had finished her own, Chloe offered hers to her companion. 

“You want it?” She asked, holding it out to Rachel. 

Rachel blinked, as if taking a moment to register what Chloe was asking. “You don’t want it?”

Chloe shook her head. “Nah, fruit popsicles were never really my thing. I only ordered it because it was the only thing the guy had left.” 

Rachel stared at the popsicle for another moment, before shrugging and taking it from her. “Thanks,” she said, biting off the end with the same kind of fearlessness as when she was jumping off a train. 

Chloe loved being with Rachel, but sometimes she seriously judged the way she ate ice cream. 

Chloe hummed in response, staring back out over the water and wondering how the ocean was looking in Arcadia Bay right now. Was it peaceful, like this? Or was it rough, the waves using their energy to make the sea choppy and wild before the summer inevitably calmed them down?

“Whatcha thinking about?” Rachel asked after a few minutes of silence. 

Chloe glanced over, and saw she had finished the popsicle. How the hell she did that and never got brain freeze was one of the mysteries of Rachel Amber Chloe had resigned herself to never unraveling. 

“Just thinking about what the weather must be like back in Arcadia right now,” Chloe answered, her own legs beginning to swing in time with Rachel’s. 

“Probably shit,” Rachel said immediately. “I mean, I wasn’t in Arcadia as long as you were, but spring was always a wild card. I bet the ocean is pissed as hell and the fishermen aren’t able to do anything about it.” 

Chloe snorted at that. “What would the ocean have to be mad about?” She asked, looking over at Rachel. 

“I think what wouldn’t the ocean have to be mad about is the better question,” Rachel shot back. “All humanity does is swim in it, throw trash in it, and take fish out of it. We don’t exactly give a lot back to Mother Nature in that respect.” 

Chloe glanced behind them at the skyline of the city, and although she wasn’t able to make it out at night, she knew the cloud of brown smog was hanging there as it always was. “We don’t give Mother Nature a lot of respect in general. Just ask LA’s air quality.” 

Rachel laughed. “Very true, Price. Very true.” 

Silence fell between them again. It wasn’t a bad silence, like so many silences had the potential of being. Instead, it was a casual silence, the comfortable one that wrapped two people in it’s reassurances, rather than its uncertainties. 

Then, that comfortable silence dissipated yet again. 

“Do you wanna smoke?” Rachel asked, hand reaching towards her pocket. 

Chloe grinned. Of course she’d brought a joint with her. Rachel was always prepared. 

“Yeah, totally,” she said, scooting closer to Rachel so they could pass the joint between them with more subtlety, Although most people in LA didn’t give a shit whether you smoked or not, they were still underage, and considering they weren’t even supposed to be on the pier at this time of night anyway, they might as well not push their luck. 

Not to mention, Chloe just liked being close to Rachel. 

Their arms were pressed against each other now, and Rachel’s skin was warm against her own. Chloe watched as Rachel lit the joint, bringing it up to her lips and taking a slow drag, before passing it to her. 

Chloe sucked in the fragrant smoke, letting the warmth burn her throat ever so slightly before handing the joint back to Rachel. She allowed it to settle in her lungs for just a moment, and then let the smoke curl out from her lips like a dragon breathing fire. Next to her, Rachel blew the smoke out into a cloud in front of her, hanging in the air for the briefest of seconds before disappearing with the ocean breeze. 

As this went on, Chloe allowed her gaze to linger on Rachel more and more, noticing how the moonlight reflected off her green eyes like glass as she blew out even more warm smoke. Like always, her feather earring was hanging proudly from her left ear, swaying in the breeze in time with small strands of her hair. 

After a few moments of this, Rachel turned to meet Chloe’s eyes, and smiled. “Are you staring at me?” She asked, her tone as light as the wind around them. 

“Just enjoying the view,” Chloe answered, grateful the pale moonlight washed out her skin to the point where her flushed cheeks weren’t visible. 

Rachel hummed in pleasant surprise, her smile quickly turning into a smirk. She shifted her body so she was facing Chloe more, and looked up into Chloe’s eyes. “Well, do you want a closer look?” She teased, leaning into Chloe’s face. 

Chloe reciprocated, and tilted her head till their faces were mere inches apart. “Yeah, I think I most certainly would,” she replied, her voice nothing more than a whisper despite the solitude they had on the pier. 

Rachel brought her hands up to Chloe’s cheeks and cupped them, and Chloe offhandedly wondered if she could tell she was blushing. “I think that can be arranged,” she whispered back, her breath ghosting across Chloe’s lips. 

Chloe took that as her invitation, and closed the distance between the two of them. On instinct, her arms wrapped around Rachel’s waist, while Rachel’s hands moved from Chloe’s cheeks to behind her neck. Rachel’s lips were soft against her own, and she couldn’t help but smile into the kiss as the sweetness of ice cream hit her tongue. 

It was kisses like these that Chloe relished. Of course, she relished all their kisses: the quick pecks, the long makeout sessions, and even the chaste ones on the nose or cheek that Rachel was so fond of giving. But the sweet, slow kisses like this one were Chloe’s favorite. They were her favorite because they always took her right back to that night of the school play, when she and Rachel had kissed for the first time in the middle of the empty road, both bathed in yellow by the streetlight overhead. 

Time passed, Chloe wasn’t sure how much, and eventually they both pulled back. 

“I love you,” Chloe whispered into the space between them. 

“I love you too,” Rachel whispered back, the words sending a surge of warmth through Chloe just like they did every time. 

Chloe smiled, and Rachel smiled back. They were drowning in moonlight, the smell of the ocean heavy in the air as the warmth of California surrounded them. This was it. This was their happiness. 

She wasn’t used to being this warm, and she wasn’t used to being this happy. 

But these were just parts of her new life, and she had a girl as bright as the sun to keep her company.

**Author's Note:**

> i actually was gonna end this in a super angsty way but then decided not to because i dont need that suffering in my life at 2 am
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed!!! I just ,,, yeah this was entirely self-indulgent
> 
> Sorry if there are any mistakes, like i said this is entirely unbetaed and I'm too tired to even try to proofread it
> 
> Leave a kudos and a comment if you liked it!!! Seriously, they make my day
> 
> My tumblr: thatsnotrelevant.tumblr.com
> 
> Thanks so much again guys!!! <3


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